What do you love/hate most about San Antonio? (Austin: prices, shop)

[2DMaxx]

I love the weather, the culture, the people,the low cost of living, no local/state income tax, the weather, the Spurs, HEB, mountain biking, the food, the weather etc!! I'm kinda weird though I love my country and it's people a lot.

[Paka]

Love--the weather, cost of living, accessibility to beach, ports and airport that can get you just about anywhere (we have friends that have to drive 2 hours to a po-dunk airport, so some of us might take that one for granted), food, freedoms and HEB Plus (and get reminded of that everytime we have visitors from other areas...they LOVE HEB when they see it!), Cameo Theater, Riverwalk, Big Red, no state income tax.

Dislikes--constant road construction, those very humid days, the damn salamanders in the Aquifer that have more water rights than we do, and people who move here from elsewhere to enjoy our job market, cost of living and weather but refuse to quit whining about how awful it is here compared to where ever it is they want to be but won't move back to. (Military folks excluded since they go where Uncle Sam TELLS them to live vs being here by CHOICE!) The fact we can't seem to get the schools built fast enough for our growth, and this darn drought!

[L3XVS]

Ditto about txsuk's comments. San Antonio is NOT diverse. no matter how some of you may profess it to be it is a Hispanic city with some whites. The white/Hispanic culture here is very insular and more than likely if you're not white or Hispanic you just wont "get it".It all goes back to that small town thinking and mentality.

[ChrisMP]

I think a perfect example of how messed up San Antonio is how in this thread, people list in their “what they like about San Antonio”: HEB1st off, the place is not that great compared to most metro areas around the country. Maybe it is the lack of competition but he meats are so so and it is much more expensive there than say the southeast or even the northeast for beef and chicken. (Strange, because I figured when I moved here the quality would be better and the prices would be lower because of all the ranches)2. What city would talk about as a like their supermarket. Is that the high standards that you hold your city up too???? Come on. Could you picture a New Yorker every saying they like a super market as one of their likes or even a person from Austin. Just another example just has short sighted and sad this town is and why it will never change. I have a feeling that people from San Antonio who love it, just have not been many places or they are not very metropolitan.

[Paka]

Originally Posted by ChrisMP

I think a perfect example of how messed up San Antonio is how in this thread, people list in their “what they like about San Antonio”: HEB1st off, the place is not that great compared to most metro areas around the country. Maybe it is the lack of competition but he meats are so so and it is much more expensive there than say the southeast or even the northeast for beef and chicken. (Strange, because I figured when I moved here the quality would be better and the prices would be lower because of all the ranches)2. What city would talk about as a like their supermarket. Is that the high standards that you hold your city up too???? Come on. Could you picture a New Yorker every saying they like a super market as one of their likes or even a person from Austin. Just another example just has short sighted and sad this town is and why it will never change. I have a feeling that people from San Antonio who love it, just have not been many places or they are not very metropolitan.

HELLLLLOOOOO!!!! The ONE thing that EVERYONE here has in common is that WE NEED TO EAT!!!! HEB is a place that I just figure you go to, but having visitors from all over the world SWOON at HEB Plus helps bring me back to the fact that many places that we take for granted here (little taquarias and HEB Plus) are actually VERY special.

Having lived internationally, I can tell you that HEB has it all over LOTS of places that would KILL for an HEB Plus...and many folks that don't really think it is "all that" learn how much they miss it when they no longer have it.

Like it or not, great produce, fair prices and ease of availability make it WONDERFUL. Maybe that is those of us that have lived in multiple countries/states that think that vs those that "take it for granted" because it is all they know.

[perticusrex]

I have a friend from the east coast and when people ask her what she likes the most about SA, she always says "the HEB." Of course she calls it HEB (as is HEH - EBB), not H-E-B.

[L3XVS]

Originally Posted by ChrisMP

I think a perfect example of how messed up San Antonio is how in this thread, people list in their “what they like about San Antonio”: HEB1st off, the place is not that great compared to most metro areas around the country. Maybe it is the lack of competition but he meats are so so and it is much more expensive there than say the southeast or even the northeast for beef and chicken. (Strange, because I figured when I moved here the quality would be better and the prices would be lower because of all the ranches)2. What city would talk about as a like their supermarket. Is that the high standards that you hold your city up too???? Come on. Could you picture a New Yorker every saying they like a super market as one of their likes or even a person from Austin. Just another example just has short sighted and sad this town is and why it will never change. I have a feeling that people from San Antonio who love it, just have not been many places or they are not very metropolitan.

I concur. It sounds a bit ridiculous and strange to tout your city's essential monopoly grocery store as a staple of it's greatness. From what I understand, SA DID at one point have more choices in terms of grocery stores but because HEB was homegrown was able to outsmart and ultimately output the several major chains that competed here.To me, this is consistant with SA's "one is enough" mentality which I think really contributes to the overall lack of competition in a variety of businesses, not just grocery stores. People here are content with few choices, and have lived with few choices for their whole lives....so when someone from a bigger metro may scratch their heads at this, but it's the culture of SA and south Texas. Insularity at it's finest.

I know what you're going through Chris, I struggled to understand SA's mentality for years (I still don't get it), but you have to realize this place is the way it is and it's not changing. The sooner you realize that, the sooner either you can adapt, or like in my case, refuse to adapt and leave. It also explains why I'm leaving for Austin, which admittedly is no New York or LA, but it sure as heck is a step up from this place.

[perticusrex]

We had Albertsons but it was too expensive

[L3XVS]

Were competitors prices more expensive relative to HEB's prices, or where they more expensive relative to branch stores in other metros? I ask because I keep hearing how expensive it is to transport goods here given SA's rather remote location. How much more expensive were they in comparison to HEB?

This is what I don't understand about SA...in other metros, some stores are naturally going to be more expensive. However, they may offer brands and/or higher quality than less expensive ones. I guess, if one wants an environment that fosters competition (which is healthy for any local economy), then one needs to accept that they WILL pay higher prices.I don't know...SA does have a higher proportion of lower middle/lower class folks so perhaps the relative lack of middle, upper-middle classes contributed to HEB being able to "price out" the competition. Who knows. I do know that SA is the only "large" city (I don't really know how to classify it) that one store has such a stronghold and majority stake in the grocery business. It's very strange and contributes to the "no place like SA" mantra...you really DON'T get it if you're not from here I suppose.

[perticusrex]

Bein' a part of the lower class mahself i prefer to pay less for the same crap....